Beneath the global front page of bad news (war and Ebola), there is the ongoing disaster fueled by super strong pesticides and the spread of genetically engineered seeds. From my end I see fewer honey bees and monarch butterflies in California, major pollinators of things that grow. The butterflies are victims of harsh weather and the disappearance of the milkweed–the only plant on which they will lay their eggs and the only food source for monarch caterpillars. Fields of milkweeds are fast disappearing under the plow of developers. Bees are victims of pesticides and variety of other threats, including mites.
As a beekeeper I view the decline of these insects as a”canary in the coal mine” warning. Bees and butterflies, under the best of conditions, have a life span of only a few weeks. I actually wake up some mornings thinking my bees will be gone, dead.
Posted is a recent photo of a honey bee in Sacramento.
67Steffen.com 
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